Stray Ferret: Harrogate’s future is not a war on cars — it is a question of place

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George Eglese runs Fontis Studio, a design studio working across culture, identity and living environments. He has been involved in developing contemporary approaches to Harrogate’s spa heritage, is the non-councillor lead for natural environment on the Harrogate Town Plan Committee, and has been involved in the 100-acre community land acquisition between Harrogate and Knaresborough.

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I agree with much of Iain Patton’s ambition. Harrogate should be healthier, greener and easier to move around. But the debate becomes too simple when it turns into cars versus people.

The real question is what kind of place Harrogate wants to be.

Too many projects risk being treated separately: traffic, planting, signage, cycling, seating and public realm. Without a clear place narrative they become piecemeal. Harrogate needs to distil its deeper sense of self, so future projects grow from the town rather than sitting on top of it like generic improvements.

Harrogate is car-centric. Much of its catchment is suburban, rural and used to driving in, parking, shopping and meeting friends. If the centre feels harder to access before it is more attractive to spend time in, many may simply shop online or go elsewhere.

That does not mean nothing should change. It means change should be led by place, not punishment.

The deeper problem is not simply too many cars. It is that Harrogate does not give people enough reasons to dwell, or a story to connect with as they move through it. The task is to make the centre more beautiful, comfortable, green and distinctive, while giving its streets, gardens and public spaces a clearer sense of self.

That sense of self is Harrogate’s real advantage: water, health, gardens, architecture, walking, ecology, sociability and landscape. This is not about treating spa heritage as a museum piece, but asking how Harrogate becomes a living spa town again.

Spa towns have always evolved with the needs of their time. Today, wellbeing, nature connection, ecology and quality of place have never been higher on the agenda. Harrogate should think at the scale of Europe’s great spa towns. But to reach that stage, we first need to look beneath our feet.

That ambition will not come from banning cars and importing generic street furniture. It will come through identity, quality and care.

We should look honestly at the pedestrianised streets we already have. They warn against treating the removal of cars as a magic answer. Before taking cars away elsewhere, surely we should make those spaces work better.

Bishopthorpe Road in York shows how a street can be strengthened through independents, cafés, events and a clear sense of itself. Harrogate should learn from that, not copy it.

I grew up in Harrogate and work across design, culture, heritage and environment, helping bring its spa heritage to life in contemporary contexts and leading on natural environment for the Town Plan.

The opportunity is less about one grand transport gesture and more about careful urban acupuncture: improving the passages, gardens, squares, thresholds and streets that hold the town together.

James Street does not need a car ban to become better. Trees, planters, parklets and spill-out spaces could turn a few parking spaces into places to sit. Princess Square could become a small piazza. Library Gardens could work harder with the library, Prince Albert Row and Victoria Avenue.

Prospect Terrace, or Pier Head, opposite the Cenotaph, was designed to take in the prospect across Low Harrogate and towards Nidderdale. The pétanque club has acknowledged that its current location, so close to the road, is not ideal. A better setting for the club could allow the terrace to recover its original purpose.

The Stray will be 250 years old in 2028. It exists because of Harrogate’s springs and wells, and was protected to safeguard the waters and health-giving landscape that made the town famous. That anniversary is an opportunity to look again at why The Stray exists and allow that to inform its future. For many coming from the south, it could be more than a space to cross. It could become a landscape that connects more deeply with the ecology, heritage and culture that shaped Harrogate when it was first protected.

Active travel will work best when born from desire, not punishment. People should walk because the route is beautiful and spend time in town because the spaces are worth it.

The future should not be anti-car or pro-car. It should be pro-place. Every new project should help express Harrogate’s identity. That is how a place becomes confident, distinctive and strong.